Apparatus for loading bobbins and the like



0d. l, 1958 R. D. LwlNGsToN 3,403,494

APPARATUS FOR LOADING BOBBINS'AND THE LIKE Filed May 31, 196e 11 sheets-sheet lA F S Ff @i www@ @mig

Oct. l, 1968 R. D. L lvlNGsTON APPARATUS FOR LOADING BOBBINS AND THE LIKE -,li- NW... my NMA Wy www@ Oct. 1, 1968 R. D. LIVINGSTON APPARATUS FOR LOADING BOBBINS AND THE LIKE ll Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 5l, 1966 AN., mm mm ,ww J vf M wm wm Vw L d, M v,

OCtl, 1968 R. D. LIVINGSTON 3,403,494

APPARATUS FOR LOADING BOBBINS AND THE LIKE /l /af i7 /f IlllLUl TVH Il lI/ll Il ll Il vil ll H/ll H ll H/ll H Il Il U 0t l, 1968 R. D. LIVINGSTON l 3,403,494

APPARATUS FOR LOADING BOBBINS AND THE LIKE Filed May 3l, 1966 llvShe'ets-Sheeb 5 Oct. l, 1968 R. D. LNINGSTON 3,403,494

APPARATUS FOR LOADING BOBBNS AND THE LIKE Filed May 3l, 1966 l1 Sheets-Sheet@ OCL l, 1968 R. D. LIVINGSTON 3,403,494

APPARATUS FOR LOADING BOBBINS AND THE LIKE Filed May 31, 196e 11 sheets-shea 7 Oct. 1, 1968 R. D. LIVINGSTON APPARATUS FOR LOADING BOBBINS AND THE LIKE 11 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed May 3l, 1966 Oct. 1, 1968 R. D. LIVINGSTON APPARATUS FOR LOADING BOBBINS AND THE LIKE Octl, 1968 R. D. LIVINGSTON 3,403,494

APPARATUS FOR LOADING BOBBINS AND THE LIKE FiledMay 31, 1 ll Sheets-Sheet 10 #f7- g. Zd. j?! .w -A

Oct. l, 1968 R. D. LIVINGSTON 3,403,494

APPARATUS FOR LOADING BOBBINS AND THE LIKE I Filed May 3l, 1966 A ll Sheets-Sheet 1l 3,403,494 APPARATUS FR LQADING BUBBINS ANDTI-IE LIKE Richard D. Livingston, Rockford, Ill., assignor to Barber- Colman Company, Rockford, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed May 31, 1966, Ser. No. 554,103 39 Claims. (Cl. 53 246) This invention relates to apparatus for loading bobbins and the like in storage receptacles and, more particularly, to an automatic loading apparatus adapted to be incorporated in a traveling doer movable along a spinning frame and operable to remove lled bobbins from the spindles of the frame. The loading apparatus receives the dolfed bobbins, usually in rows from a collecting conveyor, and delivers the bobbins to rows of storage devices such as pegs or pockets of a storage receptacle. v The general object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved loading apparatus operable at relatively high doffing speeds and capable of transferring the bobbins to stationary receptacles on the doifer and storing the bobbins, individually in a compact and orderly fashion, in the receptacles with a minimum of scuing of the thread.

A more detailed object is to deliver bobbins to a receptacle with a carrier reciprocable across the receptacle between a transfer station adjacent one end of the receptacle and a rst discharge station overlying the other end, and moved back and forth by automatic drive mechanism which stops the carrier in different discharge positions spaced progressively closer to the transfer station during successive strokes thereby loading the stationary receptacle row by row.

Another object is to double the storage capacity of the doffer while maintaining its relatively compact length and width within convenient limits for use within the limited space of textile mills. A related object is to provide a second storage receptacle in vertically spaced relation with the first, and a second carrier operating in unison with the first carrier to load both receptacles in the same manner. A

A further object is to arrange the bobbins discharged from the collecting conveyor in a novel manner in two vertically spaced rows at the transfer stations, each row having the preselected number of bobbins for delivery to a carrier.

Still another object is to deliver the bobbins to the carriers quickly, smoothly and automatically as an incident to the movement of the carriers into and out of the transfer stations.

Another object is to tilt the bobbins into inclined positions as an incident to their delivery to the carriers, and to transport the bobbins in such inclined positions for better stability during movement.

A further object is to construct the carriers in a novel manner to remove the bobbins from the transfer stations and to discharge the bobbins into the receptacles at the end of each stroke.

Another object is to actuate the carriers automatically during loading and discharge of the carriers in a simple and effective manner.

Another object is to provide a novel drive arrangement for reciprocating a carrier and progressively shortening its successive outward strokes, and also to drive two similar carriers in unison through progressively shortened strokes.

A more detailed object with respect to the carrier drive is to usean operator having a drive member reciprocating continuously back and forth through delivery and return strokes of constant length, and a novel coupling mechanism adapted, when connected to the drive memnited States Patent O Patented Oct. 1, 1968 ber, to transmit the motion thereof to the carrier, the coupling mechanism being connected to the member at the beginning of each delivery stroke to produce an outward stroke of the carrier, and being disconnected or uncoupled a progressively decreasing distance from the transfer station by a lnovel stepping device which produces the shortening carrier strokes.

The invention also resides in the particular construction and operation of the elements of the coupling mechanism.

Another object is to use a simple indexable drum with a spiral series of pins thereon as the stepping device for controlling the stroke length. A related object is to use the operator itself as the actuator for stepping the drum.

y Another object is to provide a reset mechanism for returning the drum quickly and easily to the position for the beginning of a new loading cycle.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a doifer with a loading apparatus embodying the novel features of the present invention and shown in position alongside a spinning frame.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view taken substantially along the line 2 2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-section taken substantially along the line 3 3 of FIG. l.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing the principal elements of the loading apparatus.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-section taken substantially along the line 5 5 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of the parts in FIG. 5, partly broken away and shown in section.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary cross-section taken substantially along the line 7 7 of FIG. 5, through the coupling car.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary cross-section taken substantially along the line 8 8 of FIG. 5, through the drive car.

FIG. y9 is an enlarged fragmentary view of part of FIG. 1 with added details and some parts shown in crosssection and others in moved positions.

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary view taken from the right side of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a view similar to part of FIG. 9 with the parts in moved positions.

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary cross-section taken in a vertical plane extending longitudinally through the doer, the view being taken substantially along the line 12 12 of FIG. 13.

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary elevational view taken from the right side of FIG. 12 with some parts shown in section.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged fragmentary side view of part of FIG. 12 with parts shown in cmoved positions.

FIG. l5 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective View of one of the carriers and associated parts of the dolfer frame.

FIG. 15a is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view taken from the front of the pockets at the transfer station.

FIG. 16 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational View taken from the right side of FIG. 13 and showing the carrier as it moves into the transfer station.

FIG. 17 is a fragmentary cross-section taken in a vertical plane at the transfer stations, substantially along the line 17 17 of FIG. 18.

FIG. 18 is a fragmentary cross-section taken substantially along the line 18 18 of FIG. 17 with parts broken away for clarity of illustration.

FIG. 19 is a fragmentary cross-section taken substan- 3 tially along the line 19-19 of FIG. 18 with additional parts broken away.

FIG. 20 is an enlarged fragmentary View similar to the part of FIG. 3 at the inner end of the control drum with added details and parts in moved positions.

FIG. 21 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 21-21 of FIG. 20 with parts in moved positions.

FIG. 22 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view taken at the outer end of one of the receptacles and showing the condition of the carrier during the discharge of bobbins therefrom.

FIG. 23 is an enlarged fragmentary plan View similar to FIG. 20 but taken at the outer end of the control drum in FIG. 3 with part-s in moved positions.

FIG. 24 s a cross-sectional view taken along the line 24-24 in FIG. 23.

FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 25--25 in FIG. 23.

As shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration, the invention is embodied in a loading apparatus incorporated in a traveling doffer movable along the side of a spinning frame 11 (FIGS. 1 and 2) and operable during such movement to remove or doti filled bobbins 12 from the spindles 13 of the frame and transfer the bobbins to storage receptacles 14 carried by the doffer. After doing a bobbin from a spindle, such machines preferably place an empty bobbin on the spindle, this operation being called donning The present invention is concerned only with the portion of the machine for handling the doffed bobbins after they are delivered to the clamps of a collecting conveyor 15. Accordingly, portions of the dofling and donning mechanisms are indicated only generally herein by the broken lines in FIG. 1.

In practice, the number of spinning units or spindles 13 per frame 11 may vary widely but typically is between 260 and 380, each side of the frame having one-half of the total number of spindles arranged in a straight line. For optimum utilization of available space, several frames are arranged in closely spaced relation in the mill, leaving narrow aisles between adjacent frames for access to the spinning units. As shown most clearly in FIGS. 1-3, the forward or left-hand portion of the doffer comprises an open box-like framework 17 carried on top of a cast base 18, with a platform 19 projecting rearwardly (to the right) from the lower rear of the base and supporting the drive mechanisms of the doffer. Two front wheels 20 are rotatably supported on axles near the front corners of the base and protected by a bumper 21, and two rear wheels 22 are journaled between the parallel legs of yokes 23 mounted beneath the platform to swivel about vertical axes and permit steering of the doffer as it is transferred from one line to another. A handle 24 on the rear of the platform facilitates manual handling of the dotfer.

To drive the doifer 10 along the side of a spinning frame 11, a transverse shaft 25 (FIGS. 2 and 4) is journaled on the doffer frame adjacent the rear end of the latter for rotation about a horizontal axis with -a pinion 27 fast on its laterally projecting end and positioned to ride on and mesh with a horizontal rack 28 extending along the spinning frame. This shaft is power-rotated, in a direction to advance the pinion and the doffer along the rack from right to left in FIG. 1, by an electric motor 29 (FIGS. 3 and 4) coupled to the shaft by a belt drive 30 and suitable gearing at 31 (FIG. 3) driving an intermediate shaft 32 connected by bevel gearing 33 to an upright shaft 34 geared at 35 (FIG. 4) to the drive shaft 25. The upright shaft also is geared at 37 to the collecting conveyor 15 to drive the latter in timed relation with the mot-ion of the doffer along the spinning frame. Power for the motor preferably is supplied by a battery carried on the doffer.

The collecting conveyor 15 is mounted at the rear of and above the box-like framework 17 on top of a support 4 38 above the platform 19, and is formed by two endless chains 39 disposed in spaced horizontal planes and trained around two pairs of sprocket wheels 40 and 41 on two vertical shafts 42 and 43 spaced apart laterally of the frame. The shaft 42 is journaled in vertically spaced bearings 44 (FIGS. 9 and l0) carried on laterally projecting pins 45 slidable horizontally in an upright post 47 extending upwardly from the support 38, the bearings being spring-urged away from the post to apply tension to the chains. The other shaft 43 is suitably journaled on the support and extends downwardly beyond its lower sprocket 41 (see FIG. 4) where it is geared at 37 to the vertical shaft 34 for rotation in the direction of the arrow 48 in FIG. 4 by the motor 29 through the power train shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

Each of the clamps on the conveyor 15 is formed by a pair of spaced jaws 49 projecting outwardly from a backing 50 spanning and secured to the chains 39, one of the jaws of each clamp being supported on the backing for swinging toward and away from the other jaw about a pivot 51 and spring-urged toward thefother jaw to grip a bobbin between the jaws. As the clamps pass through a receiving station at the right end of the conveyor, as viewed in FIG. 4, a filled bobbin 12 is inserted in each clamp to be carried around the conveyor along the rear run thereof to the front run. A suitable operator (not shown) is provided for opening the clamps to receive the bobbins and then permitting the clamps to close on the bobbin. Thus, the bobbins inserted in the clamps are carried around the conveyor to the front run thereof and arranged in a row, herein of live side-by-side bobbins, for release to the loading apparatus.

General statement of the invention The present invention contemplates a new and imroved bobbin-loading apparatus for transferring bobbins 12 from the collecting conveyor 15 to storage receptacles 14 stationarily supported on the doffer 10 and having storage devices 52 for holding the bobbins individually in or on the receptacles for eventual transfer to other bobbin-handling equipment. The loading apparatus operates at relatively high dotiing speeds and makes it possible to store the bobbins in an orderly fashion in upright positions with a minimum of scufng of the thread, and in a compact arrangement such that a doifer of compact size can service the entire side of a spinning frame in a single continuous pass.

To the foregoing ends, the novel loading apparatus comprises generally a carrier 53 supported on the doffer frame for back and forth movement across the station-ary receptacle 14 between a transfer station 54 (FIG. 4) adjacent the conveyor 15 and at one end of the receptacle, and a rst discharge position overlying the opposite end of the receptacle; mechanism for driving the carrier back and forth in timed relation with the delivery of bobbins 12 to the transfer station, rst inwardly to the station to receive bobbins, then outwardly toward the discharge position, and then back to the transfer station; means progressively shortening successive outward strokes by the pitch of the rows of storage devices 52 of the receptacle to position the carrier at the ends Vof successive strokes over different rows -progressively closer to the transfer station; and means for discharging bobbins from the carrier in the discharge positions. With a stationary receptacle and a reciprocating carrier operating over the receptacle, the total length and width of the bobbin storage portion of the doffer is only slightly greater than the size of the receptacles used.

While the invention could be used to transfer a single bobbin 12 during each stroke, the carrier 53 herein is designed to receive rows of ve bobbins and transfer the bobbins to rows of five storage devices of the receptacle. This permits the carriers to move at relatively slow rates while the doffer is operating at high speed. Moreover, the capacity of the doffer is doubled by supporting a second receptacle 14 on the dolfer in vertically spaced relation with the first receptacle, and providing a second carrier 53 similarly operating above the second receptacle to loadbobbins into the latter from a second transfer station 55 (FIG. 4) adjacent the end of the second receptacle. Preparatory to loading of the carriers, a rst group of five bobbins is discharged from the collecting conveyor and guided through the rst or upper transfer station 54 to the lower transfer station 55 where these bobbins are held for transfer to the lower carrier 53. The next group of ve bobbins discharged from the conveyor is held in the upper transfer station for transfer to the upper carrier. Preferably, the two carriers are movable in unison across the respective receptacles and are operated by common drive and control mechanisms.

Storage receptacles and support therefor In this instance, the box-like framework .17 of the doffer 10 is formed by four upright angle-iron posts 57 (see FIGS. 1-3) at the four corners of the base 18, the front posts being connected to the rear posts on each side by parallel lower and intermediate side rails 58 and an upper bar 59 extending between the upper ends of the posts. Crossbars 60 connect the upper and lower ends of the two front posts, and the rear posts are braced by transverse bars 61 and 62 (FIG. 12) between the rear ends of the rails 58, thereby completing the framework.

While the storage receptacles 14 may take various forms such as peg boards (not shown) with rows of parallel pins for fitting upwardly into the bobbins, herein they are shown as trays with the storage devices 52 in the form of upwardly opening cups sized to receive the lower end portions of filled bobbins 12 with a loose t. This type of receptacle simplies the automatic transfer of bobbins from the carriers 53 to the receptacles. Each tray has a plurality of rows of cups providing a total number in two trays suflicient to receive all of the bobbins from one side of a spinning frame. For example, for spinning frames having 260 spindles, 130 on each side, two trays having thirteen rows of five cups each may be used, while two trays with nineteen rows of ve cups each may be used for a 380-spindle frame. The live longitudinal grooves 63 (see FIGS. 2 and 18) through the centers of the longitudinal rows of cups facilitate removal of bobbins from the trays during a later operation.

As shown most clearly in FIGS. 13 and 18, each tray 14 herein is supported on the doffer between one of the two sets of side rails 58 which are formed with horizontal flanges 64 projecting toward each other from the lower edges of the rails in a common plane and extending part way under the sides of the tray. These anges support the tray in a horizontal position and also form a slideway for insertion and removal of trays. To hold the tray in a predetermined location longitudinally of the rails, a stop 65 is bolted to the top of each ange adjacent the inner or rear end of the latter to limit inward sliding of the tray, and rollers 67 (FIG. 2) are journaled between the front posts 57 of the framework 17 just above therlevels of the supporting anges to abut against the outer ends of the trays and hold latter against the inner stops. The rollers also facilitate sliding of the trays into and out of the dotfer. For different sizes of trays, the stops 65 may be moved along the anges 64 to insure that the front end of each tray is held against or closely adjacent the associated roller 67.

The transfer stations 54 and 55 herein are adjacent the rear ends of the trays 14 so that the outward movement of the carriers 53 away from the stations is forward motion relative to therdirection of travel of the doffer, and inward movement, back to the transfer stations, is rearward relative to the dotfer travel. It should be apparent, however, that the bobbins also could be carried rearwardly from the transfer stations and deposited in trays behind the stations.

Preparation of bobbins for transfer' to carriers As shown rnost clearly in FIGS. 2, 4 and 17-19, the transfer stations are defined by two vertically alined bobbin nests each having tive laterally spaced, forwardly opening pockets separated by sidewalls 68 spaced apart laterally of the doffer a distance slightly greater than the diameter of a filled bobbin 12, and having substantially closed rear sides and lower ends and a front side through which the bobbins may be moved sideways toward the trays. In this instance, the sidewalls of the pockets are vertical plates (see FIG. 15a) extending forwardly from a series of laterally spaced pieces 69 of V-shaped horizontal cross-section forming the rear walls of the pockets. The adjacent edges of the V-shaped pieces are spaced apart to dene vertical slots 70 in the rear walls, and are joined together by integral webs 71 and 72 near their upper and lower ends extending across the tops and bottoms of the slots. The upper Webs 71 are in upwardly and rearwardly inclined planes to guide bobbins into the pockets.

To close the lower ends of the pockets, two retaining members are disposed below the nests with laterally spaced toes 73 of inverted V-shaped cross-section extending forwardly beneath the sidewalls 68 of the pockets and forming a slotted bottom wall for each pocket, the slot 74 opening forwardly toward the associated carrier 53. The toes project forwardly from the lower ends of downwardly and forwardly inclined sections 75 which are joined to transverse supporting bars 77 and 78 supported at their ends on the rear posts 57 as shown most clearly in FIGS. 13, 18 and 19. With this arrangement, bobbins dropped into the pockets come to rest on the toes 73 in generally centered positions with the bodies of the bobbins in front of the rear slots 70 and the lower ends of the bobbins straddling the lower slots 74.

To prevent bobbins from tipping forwardly and falling through the open front sides of the pockets, gates 79 (see FIGS. 4, 15a, 18 and 19) are hinged on the forward edges of the side plates 68 to swing about vertical axes and are spring-urged into closed positions (see FIG. 19) overlylng the open sides of the pockets. Herein, the gates are sheet metal plates each having a series of vertically spaced curls 80 along one edge bent around a hinge pin 81 extending along the edge of the side plate and supported at its lower end (see FIG. 17) in an upwardly opening sleeve 82 on the side plate, and at its upper end 1n a sleeve 83 on a lug 84 fastened to the underside of a transverse bar 85. Two gate plates are hinged on each pin with their curls 8i) alternating along the pin, and are urged toward the closed positions shown in FIG. 18 by a torsion spring 87 (FIG. 17) coiled around the central portion of the pin. A tab 88 on the upper edge of each gate engages an opposed abutment on the bracket 84 to stop inward swinging of the gates in these positions. A V-shaped wire 89 forms a downward extension of each gate plate.

The pockets of the upper nest are disposed immediately beneath and in vertical alinement with ve laterally spaced discharge passages of a guide 90 (FIGS. l, 4 and 9) for receiving a row of tive bobbins from the collecting conveyor 15 and delivering the bobbins into the upper pockets. For this purpose, the guide comprises an inclined deilector plate 90 extending laterally across the doifer in front of the conveyor and fastened at 9.1 (see FIG. 9) to the upper side bars 59 just above the front sides of the pockets. To form tive separated discharge passages, two rearwardly projecting fins 93 are mounted on the ends of the guide and four intermediate dividers 94 are spaced along the guide between the positions of the five bobbins to be discharged, thus defining rearwardly and downwardly opening chutes for receiving each discharged bobbin and guiding the bobbin into the upper nest of pockets.

Bobbins are ejected from between the clamp jaws 49 by a top pusher 95 (FIGS. 9 and 10) in the form of an elongated bar secured to the lower ends of a pair of parallel level arms 97 fast on and depending from a transverse shaft 98 rotatably supported above the Ifront run of the conveyor. The lever arms and the pusher bar normally are disposed in the positions shown in full in FIG. 9 with the bar closely adjacent the rear sides of the upper end portions of the bobbins 12 in the clamps moving along the front conveyor run, and are swingable clockwise and outwardly (to the position shown in broken lines) by downward endwise movement of an operating link 99 pivotally connected at 100 to the free end of a crank 101 fast on and projecting rearwardly from the upper end of one arm 97. A second pusher in the form of a transverse plate 102 is disposed along the rear sides of the lower end portions of bobbins on the front run and swingable from the normal, full-line position in FIG. 9 to the broken line position. Such swinging is produced by a link 103 pivoted at 104 on the rear side of this plate and at 105 on the operating link 99 to tilt the pusher plate counterclockwise as the operating link moves downwardly. This swings the upper portion of the plate forwardly against the lower end portions of the bobbins as shown in broken lines. Thus, both ends of the bobbins in the clamps on the front run of the conveyor are pushed forwardly to eject the bobbins from the clamps as the operating link is shifted from its normal raised position to its lowered position. A skirt 107 inclined downwardly and forwardly from the lower pusher plate guides the lower ends of the bobbins forwardly over and into the pockets.

The pusher-operating link 99 is spring-urged upwardly and actuated in timed relation with the delivery of bobbins to the front run of the collecting conveyor 15 by a counting mechanism 108 (FIGS. 4 and 9-11) driven by the shaft 25 and operable to shift the link endwise and downwardly once for each tive bobbins delivered to the conveyor when the five bobbins have moved into alinement with the tive chutes of the guide 90. As shown in FIGS. 9-11, the lower end of the operating link is pivoted at 109 on a crank 110 on a rocker sleeve 111 rotatably mounted on the support 38 beneath the conveyor. Projecting radially from the rocker sleeve is a second crank 112 which is pivotally connected at 112a to the upper end of an elongated upright bar 113 having a longitudinal slot 114 in its laterally offset lower end portion 115 (see FIG. 10) slidably receiving a cam pin 117 projecting from the side of a gear 118 rotatably supported on an arm 119 on the lower portion of the support 38. This gear meshes with a smaller gear 120 fast on the shaft 121 of a third gear 122 which meshes with and' is driven by a pinion 123 on the driving shaft 25. This shaft turns one revolution for each bobbin delivered to the conveyor and, through the reduction gearing shown in FIGS. 9 and l0, rotates the gear 118 and the pin 177 through one revolution for each tive revolutions of the drive Shaft.

Formed in the intermediate portion of the bar 113 is a generally rectangular aperture 124 with a notch 125 in its upper right corner. Projecting into the aperture is a clutch pin 127 carried on the -free end of a rocker arm 128 (FIGS. 4 and 9-11) projecting radially from a sleeve 129 (FIG. l0) rotatably supported on the support 38 by means of a pin 130. Also supported Ion this sleeve is a V-shaped crank carrying two follower rollers 131 which ride on the peripheries of two cams 132 and 133 (FIG. 10) mounted on and turning with the shaft 25. The cams are shaped to rock the arm 128 and the clutch pin 127 up and down between raised and lowered positions (shown in full and in broken lines in FIG. 9) once during each revolution of the camshaft.

It will be seen in FIGS. 9 and 1l that the cam pin 117 on the gear 118 will swing the bar 113 laterally back and forth like a pendulum about the upper pivot 112e. During tive successive revolutions of the drive shaft after a group of bobbins has been discharged from the conveyor, the pin moves counterclockwise from the position shown in FIG. 9 through one revolution, first swinging the bar to the right during the rst and second revolutions of the camshaft, then starting it back to the left during the third revolution, and iinally,'at the end of the fifth revolution, swinging the bar and the notch far enough to the left so that the clutch pin 127 enters the notch and thereby couples the arm 128 tothe link 99. During thenext revolution of the shaft 25 after such coupling, the clutch pin is pulled downwardly by the carns132 and 1-33 loperating on the rollers 131, and thus operates the'pushers 95 and 102 to eject the five bobbins that have moved into position along the front run of the conveyorV during thepreceding iive revolutions of the camshaft. As the pin 117 moves beyond the position in FIG. 1l, the accompanying swinging of the link to the right uncouples the clutch pin 127 and the rocker arm 128 from the bar 113 and the link 99. Accordingly, the clutch pin oscillates idly within the aperture 124 until the notch again swings to the left and latches the pin to the bar 113.

To pass the first group of ve discharged bobbins through the upper nest of pockets to the lower nest, the bar 77 supporting the toes 73 forming the bottom wall of the upper nest is mounted to'turn about its longitudinal axis on pins 134 (FIGS. 13) journaled in bushings 135 in the rear posts 57 and threaded into the ends of the bar. In one angular position of the latter, the toes project generally horizontally forward, as shown in full lines in FIG. 12, to close the bottoms of the pockets and thus catch bobbins dropped into the pockets. From this position, the bar is turned counterclockwise to swing the toes downwardly to the broken line position in FIG. l2 thereby opening the upper pockets to drop the bobbins into the lower pockets. While the bottom walls of the lower pockets preferably are identical to those of the upper pockets, the bar 78 is stationarily secured to t-he rear posts 57 by screws 137 (FIG. 13) threaded into lianges 138 on the ends of the bars.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the rotatably supported bar 77 and the several laterally spaced toes 73 thereon form a gate for selectively opening and closing the lower ends of the upper pockets. To operate the gate at appropriate times, a longitudinally split lever 139 (FIGS. 12 and 13) projects rearwardly from the bar with a vertical link 140 pivotally connected to its free end by means of a pin 141 journaled at its ends in alined holes in the two sections 'of the lever. The link 140 projects upwardly through a hole in the pin and through sleeves 142 above and below the pin, and a nut is threaded on the upper end of the link. A spring 143 coiled around the link between a collar 144 thereon and the lower sleeve 142 yieldably urges the link downwardly and holds the nut against the upper sleeve. In this manner, the spring forms a cushioned connection between the bar 77 and the actuating link as the latter moves upwardly to rotate the bar counterclockwise and swing the toes downwardly. The link is pulled downwardly by an extension spring 145 stretched between the lower end portionof the link and a portion of the base 18, and normally is latchedn the lowered position to hold the gate closed.

For this purpose, the lower end of the link is pivotally connected at 147 to the rear end of a lever 148 pivoted intermediate its ends on a base to rock about a transverse axis dened by a pin 149. A latching pin 150` on the front end of the lever tits into a notch in the lower. end of an arm 151 pivoted on a pin 152 on .the base above the latch pin, and a torsion spring 153 urges the arm clockwise about its axis into the position shown in FIG. 12. In this condition of the parts, the pocketV gate of the upper nest is held securely in the closed position to support a group of bobbins in the pockets. After the first of two groups of bobbins is in the upper nest, the arm 151 is unlatched and the link 140 is raised to open the door and release the bobbins for gravitation into the lower pockets. The link then is lowered and again latched in the lowered position 'to catch and hold the second group. The gate operating mechanism is actuated by part of the drive for the carriers 53 which will be described in detail in connection with the carrier drive.

l `The bobbin carriers and transfer of bobbins thereto The two carriers 53 for transferring the groups of bobbins from the bobbin nests to the trays 14 herein are identical in construction and operation, and are supported on the two sets of side rails 58 for movement back and forth across the tops of the two trays 14 as shown in FIG. 15. Each carrier is supported at its opposite ends on the associated rails by a carriage comprising two blocks 154 having laterally opening longitudinal grooves 155 slidably receiving horizontal iianges 157 formed along the upper edges of the rails. Extending horizontally between the carriage blocks are two parallel tie rods 158 and 159 (FIGS. 15-18) which support the carrier platform 160 between the blocks. This platform, which may be fabricated of sheet metal, is a fiat plate hinged along its forward or outer edge on the rod 158 by means of laterally spaced curls curving downwardly around and under the rod, and normally rests intermediate its edges on top of the rod 159 which is level with and spaced rearwardly from the hinge rod. Spaced apart across the platform plate 160 are a plurality of dividers 161 of inverted V-shaped cross-section cooperating with each other and with two somewhat similar end pieces 162 to define five laterally spaced and separated sections for the lower ends of bobbins resting on the carrier. The dividers and end members are formed with flanges lying flat against the plate 160 and defining a narrow front-torear groove in each section for facilitating the discharge of bobbins from the carrier.

The upper ends of bobbins on the carrier rest against an upper crosspiece 163 between the upper end portions 164 of two supports having spaced legs 165 and 167 upstanding from the carriage blocks, the upper end portions being inclined upwardly and forwardly to dispose the crosspiece in advance of the platform 160. A series of wire dividers 168 spaced apart along the crosspiece define five notches laterally alined with the five sections of the platform for receiving the upper ends of the bobbins. Thus, the dividers 161 and 168 cooperate to form five holders for supporting laterally spaced bobbins on the carrier in forwardly inclined positions for optimum stability during forward movement.

As shown in FIGS. 16-19, the carriers 53 are movable rearwardly along the rails 58 into receiving positions in which each platform 16) is immediately beneath the lower ends of the associated pockets, the dividers 161 of the platform being disposed between adjacent pockets and beneath the toes 73 forming the slotted bottom walls of the pockets. To effect the transfer of groups of bobbins from the nest of pockets onto the carrier, the latter has a series of abutments 169 laterally spaced along its rear or inner edge and projecting upwardly above the level of the platform to project through the slots 74 and into the Pockets lbehind the lower ends of the bobbins when the carrier is at the end of its inward stroke.

In the present instance, the abutments 169 are upright fingers spaced along the inner edge of a subframe formed by a rectangular plate 17 0 disposed beneath the rods 158 and159 and hinged along its forward or outer edge on the front rod -by means of curls along its front edge curving upwardly around the hinge rod and alternating with the curls on the platform. Mounted in this manner, the plate is swingable from a normal horizontal position abutting against the rear rod downwardly to the position shown Ain FIG. 16. During such movement, the fingers 169, which project upwardly through notches 171 (FIG. along the inner edge of the platform 160y when the lower plate is horizontal, swing downwardly to a level below the lower ends of the bobbins in the pockets, and thus can pass beneath the bobbins as the carrier moves into the bobbin-receiving position beneath the pockets.

The lower plate 17 t) normally is held in the horizontal position by a coiled extension spring 172 (FIGS. 15 and 16) stretched between a pin 173 on one carrier post and a pin 174 projecting laterally from a bar 175 fastened to a flange 177 turned upwardly from the end of the lower plate. Thus, the spring urges the subframe clockwise (FIG. 16) about the hinge rod 158 and into engagement with the underside of the rear rod 159'. Stationarily mounted on the adjacent side rail 58 is a cam block 178 which is disposed in the path of a follower in the form of a toe 179 pivoted on the lower end of the bar 175 and normally extending downwardly therefrom. A stop 180 prevents counterclockwise rotation of the toe relative to the bar from its normal position against the stop but permits the toe to swing clockwise out of this position, against the action of a spring 179a. When the toe engages the right end of the cam as shown in FIG. 16, during movement of the carrier to the left in FIG. 16, the bar and the entire lower plate are rocked counterclockwise about the yhinge rod until the toe is raised high enough to pass over the cam. Then, as the toe slides to the left along the top of the cam, the lower plate is held in the inclined position in FIG. 16 in which the fingers 169 are retracted below the level of the lower bobbin ends. After passing the left end of the cam, the toe is released and in turn releases the lower plate to the action of the spring 172 which tilts the plate back to the horizontal position. The length and position of the block 178, of course, are such that the fingers are held retracted until they are behind the bobbins and then are released to the lifting action of the spring. As the carrier begins each outward stroke toward the front end of the doffer, the fingers move outwardly along the slots 73 to drag the lower ends of the bobbins out of the pockets. The follower toe 179 pivots clockwise as shown in broken lines in FIG. 16 to pass over the cam block without changing the position of the lower plate.

To assist the carrier fingers 169 in transferring the bobbins from the pockets through the gates 79 and Onto the carriers 53, a pusher 181 is disposed in the slot 70 in the rear wall of each pocket and is supported for forward swinging movement into engagement with the upper end portion of the bobbin in the pocket to push the bobbin sideways through the gate. Herein, the pushers are elongated castings projecting upwardly from a transverse bar 182 (see FIGS. 15a and 18) parallel to the bar 77, 78 supporting the toes 73, the pusher bar being mounted for rotation about its longitudinal axis by means of shouldered pins 183 (see FIG. 18) inserted through bushings 184 in the rear posts 57 and threaded into the ends of the bar. Projecting to the rear from each pusher bar is a longitudinally split crank 185 (see FIGS. 12, 13 and 17) with a slidable and pivotal connection 187 to a rod 188, 189, the connection being similar to that between the pocket-gate link 140 and the crank 139. The rod 188 connected to the upper pusher bar 182 extends downwardly to and is pivoted on the laterally extending upper end portion 19t) of a link 191 pivoted at its lower end at 192 (FIG. 17) on the rear end of a lever 193 fulcrumed at 194 on the base 18. A cam 195 fast on the front end of the lever is positioned for engagement with operators 197 for rocking the lever counterclockwise to the position shown in broken lines to raise the connecting link 191 against the action of an extension spring 198 stretched between a pin 199 on the base and a pin 200 on the connecting link. The lower end of the rod 189 connected to the crank 185 on the lower pusher bar 182 also is secured to the upper end portion of the connecting link, so that upward motion of the latter raises both rods 188 and 189 in unison to swing both sets of pushers forwardly through the pockets. Thus, the bobbins are pushed sideways through the gates 79, their upper ends being moved out of the pockets ahead of their lower ends and seated in the notches formed by the wires 168 on the carrier crosspiece 163. Springs V201 and 202 on the rods 188 and 189 cooperate with the sliding connections 187 to provide a cushioning action permitting firm seating of the bobbins against the crosspiece under yieldable spring pressure, and prevent breakage in the event of a jam.

Carrier drive and control The mechanism for driving each carrier 53 comprises an operator having a drive member 203 continuously reciprocating back and forth through delivery and return strokes of constant length, means operable during each delivery stroke to couple the carrier to the drive member and shift the carrier outwardly from the transfer station toward the remote end of the tray 14, and a device 204 operable during successive delivery strokes to uncouple the carrier progressively shorter distances from the transfer station in order to leave the carrier in different discharge positions spaced progressively toward the transfer station. Then, during the return strokes of the drive member, the carrier is recoupled thereto and returned from the discharge position to the transfer station to receive another group of bobbins.

In this instance, the drive member 203 is a car guided on a track parallel to the carrier path and reciprocated by an endless chain 205 disposed in a vertical plane and trained around two sprocket wheels 206 and 207 spaced apart on the base 18 to form straight upper and lower runs of the chain extending longitudinally of the dofer. The car is level with the axes of rotation of the sprockets and is connected to the chain by a link 208 pivoted at one end on the chain and at the other end on the side of the car. In operation, the sprocket 207 is driven continuously in one direction, clockwise as viewed in FIG. 4, by gearing at 209 (FIG. 3) and chain drives 21() and 211 driven by the intermediate shaft 32 which, in turn, is driven by the motor 29 through the gearing 31. Thus, the operation of the carriers is directly correlated with the operation of the collecting conveyor 15, also driven by the shaft 32, and the cycles of the car 203 are timed to coincide with the delivery of a preselected number of bobbins to the transfer stations. Herein, the car completes one back-and-forth cycle in ten revolutions of the conveyor drive shaft.

In this instance, the drive car 203 is adapted to be coupled to the carriers 53 by a second car 212 and a cableand-pulley drive system which is shown most clearly in FIG. 4. It will be seen that each carriage block 154 is fastened to the free ends of two cables extending in opposite directions from the block along the path of reciprocation thereof. The cables of the upper carrier are indicated by numbers 213, 214 on one side and 213g, 214a on the other, and the lower cables are indicated as 215, 217 on one side and 215e, 21711 on the other. Although a single set of cables could be used for each carrier, it is preferred to provide two sets for pulling both ends f each carrier in each direction of carrier movement.

Tracing the cable 213 in FIG. 4 from the carriage block 154 to its other end, it will be seen that the cable rst extends rearwardly along the side of the tray 14 to the rear end of the tray where it turns 90 degrees around a pulley 218 on a rear post 57 and runs downwardly toward the lower corner of the framework. Then the cable turns 90 degrees around a pulley 219 and runs laterally toward the middle of the doffer turning 90 degrees around a third pulley 220 and then extending forwardly beneath the lower tray 14. The lower cable 215 follows a similar path around a rear pulley 221 and the pulleys 219 and 220. On the other side, the cables 213g and 215g extend rearwardly and turn downwardly over pulleys 222 and 223, then, at the lower corner of the framework, turn laterally around a common pulley 224 below the gear box. Near the middle of the framework, these two cables turn upwardly around a pulley 225 and then turn 90 degrees around a pulley 226 and extend forwardly beneath the lower tray parallel to the pulleys 213 and 215. All four of the cables then loop 180 degrees about a fourgroove pulley 227 on the coupling car 212 and return i parallel relation to an anchor 228 on the base.

Similarly, the forwardly extending cables turn downwardly around four pulleys 229 alongside the front ends of the trays, then turn degrees about pulleys 230 below the level of the lower tray to extend laterally toward the middle of the doffer, and then turn rearwardly toward the coupling car 212 about pulleys 231 which guide the four cables into parallel relation. At the car, the cables loop degrees around a second four-grooved pulley 232 thereon and extend back to an anchor 233 (FIG. 3).With this arrangement, movement of the coupling car to the right in FIG. 4 will pull the cables 214, 21441, 217 and 217a, at their connection to the carriage blocks 154, to the left while paying out a corresponding amount of the other cables, thereby shifting the two carriers 53 simultaneously to the left or forwardly along their paths. Similarly, during movement of the coupling ear to the left, the cables 213, 213g, 215 and 215a pull the carriers in unison to the right, rearwardly or inwardly toward the transfer stations. It will be seen that the cable-and-pulley drive reverses the car motion and doubles the extent 1of that motion in transmitting it to the carriers. Accordingly, the length of the space required for the operator and associated parts beneath the trays is about one-half the length of the stroke of the carriers. Y

In this instance, the two cars 203 and 212 are supported on a common track formed by an elongated horizontal rod 234 fast at its ends on the base 18 near the opposite ends of the doffer frame. Each car is formed with a tubular body (see FIGS. 5 and 6) loosely telescoped over the rod with top and bottom longitudinal ribs 235 projecting beyond the ends of the tubular portion and forming lugs at each end supporting four V- grooved wheels 237 which ride on the rod and hold the car thereon. To prevent the cars from turning about the rod, two laterally spaced rollers 238 are iournaled on the underside of a depending lug 239 on the lower rib 235 of each car and ride on opposite sides of a parallel rod 240 below the track rod 234. The pulleys 227 and 232 on the coupling car are rotatably supported on two laterally projecting axles 241 spaced apart on one Side of the car.

Mounted on the coupling car 212 and extending across the drive car 203, when the two are together, is a latching finger 242 engageable with a latching abutment in the form of a pin 243 on the drive car to couple the two cars releasably together for movement in unison along the track rod 234. As shown in FIGS. 5-7, the nger is pivoted intermediate its ends on a transverse horizontal pin 244 carried between two upstanding lugs on top of the coupling car, and is urged clockwise (FIG. 5) about the pivot pin by a coiled spring 245 compressed between the left end portion of the nger and an upwardly facing shoulder on the car. Studs 247 projecting toward each other from the linger and the shoulder fit into opposite ends of the spring to hold the latter in place. Thus, the spring urges the opposite end portion of the nger downwardly toward the top of the drive car when the cars are together. An abutment 248 beneath the right end portion engages the car and holds the finger with the underside 249 of its tip high enough to engage and pass over the latch pin as the drive car moves toward the coupling car from the right in FIGS. 5 and 6. Accordingly, as the drive car moves to the left toward the coupling car, the latching nger engages and snaps over the pin to couple the cars together. Continuing to the left, the drive car pushes the coupling car to the left to produce the inward or rearward strokes of the carriers. As the drive car reverses its direction, the coupling car is pulled back to the right until it is unlatched from the drive car, thereby producing the outward strokes of the carriers during the initial portion of the delivery stroke of the drive car and terminating each outward stroke upon unlatching of the cars.

The length of successive outward strokes of the carriers is controlled by the device 204 which has a series of stops 250 spaced Vapart longitudinally 'of the path of thecoupling car 212 and movable successively into the path of an abutment on the carto unlatch the cars at different points along Vthe path of the coupling car, thereby stopping the carriers in the'diifer'ent discharge positions along the trays.` Herein, the device is in the form of an elongated hollow drum paralleling the track 234 on 'one side of the latter and having a spiral series of stop pins 250 projecting radially outwardly from the drum and adapted to be turned successively into the path of a bumper 251 (FIGS. 4-7, 2l and 23 on a stud threaded into the coupling car 212, one side of the bumper constituting the uncoupling abutment. To support the drum, two coaxial shafts 252 and 253 project from the opposite ends of the drum and are journaled on the base, the rear shaft 252 being fast on a plug 254 (FIGS. 2O and 21) closing the rear end of the drum, and being journaled in a flanged bushing 255 fitted in a sleeve 257 integral with the base 18. The front shaft 253 (FIG. 23) projects forwardly from a similar plug 258 in the front end of the drum and is journaled in a bearingsleeve 259 on the base.

As shown most clearly in FIGS. 20 and 23, each of the stop pins 250 'extends through a hole in the periphery of the drum, across the interior to the opposite side of the drum, and into an alined hole in the opposite side to anchor the pin securely in the drum. The projecting ends of adjacent pins herein are spaced apart longitudinally of the drum a distance equal to one-half the pitch of the tray pockets 52, and are'spaced apart angularly of the drum by a preselected arc.A For example, with 20 pins in the series, each pin from theinner end outwardly along the drum may be spaced 18 degrees from the preceding pin, as shown in FIG. 25'. To bring successive pins along the drum into the path of the bumper 251 during successive rearward or delivery strokes of the drive car 212 and the simultaneous forward strokes of the carriers 53, the drum is indexed step by step clockwise as indicated by the arrows 260 in FIGS. 24'and 25 thereby indexing successive pins into the horizontally projecting active position shown at 250a in FIGS. 20 and 25. During the forward stroke of the drive car, the bumper strikes the pin in this active position and is stopped, along with the coupling car, almost immediately. When this occurs, the latching finger 242 is cammed upwardly by the coaction of the pin 243 and the latching shoulder, and thus releases the coupling car as the drive car continues rearwardly.

In machines that are to be operated at dofing speeds substantially above 60 to 65 bobbins per minute, the drum 204 preferably is mounted for limited endwise yielding against light spring pressure to cushion the impact between the bumper 251 and the pins 250. At 65 bobbins per minute or lower, the drum may be held rigidly against axial motion. In this instance, a compression spring 261 (FIG. 23) is coiled around the front shaft 253 between the bearing sleeve 259 and the front end of the shaft, one end of the spring being anchored on the bearing and the other end being bent into a groove 262 in the end of the shaft and held in place by a pin 263. Thus, when the bumper strikes a dump pin (FIG. 20), the drum yields to the right against the spring 261 toward the position indicated in broken lines in FIG. 2l. The bushing ange 264 abuts against the right end of the drum to limit such yielding. v

The unlatching of the two cars occurs as the yielding of the drum stops, and the drive car 203 then continues on through the remainder of its delivery stroke while the coupling car 212 dwells against the dump pin 250 in the active position 250a and the carriers 53 dwell adjacent a row of empty tray pockets 52. Todump the bobbins 12 from the carriers into the trays 14 during this dwell period, an operator 265 (FIGS. 15 and 22) is mounted on one end of each carrier and coupled to the platform 160 to swing the latter into an inclined position (FIG. 22) in response to vertical motion of an actuator 267 engageable with the operatorin all discharge positions of the carrier.

In this instance, the platform operator comprises a curved arm 268 pivoted at 269 adjacent one end of one carriage block 154 to rock up and down about an axis parallel to the hinge axis, and a generally triangular plate 270 disposed alongside the carriage block above the free end of the operator arm and pivoted on the end of the hinge pin 158. A pin 271 connects this plate to the anged end of the platform at a point above the hinge pin, and the rear portion 272 of the plate rests on a tab on the free end of the operator arm so that counterclockwise motion of the arm turns the plate counterclockwise and raises the rear portion of the platform to the dump position shown in FIG. 22.

The actuator 267 for each carrier 53 is an elongated transfer bar mounted on the side of the rail 58 and movable vertically between parallel raised and lowered positions shown respectively in FIGS. 22 and 15, the front end portion of the bar being disposed beneath the end of the carrier in its rst discharge position and the rear end portion beneath the end of the carrier in its last discharge position. A pin 273 on the operator arm 268 moves along the top of the transfer barand thus is positioned to be raised by the latter in all discharge positions of the associated carrier. To support the transfer bar, two headed pins 274 on each rail project loosely through a pair of upwardly and rearwardly inclined parallel slots 275 adjacent the opposite ends of the rail. A similarly inclined connecting bar 277 (FIG. 1) is connected at its opposite ends to the two transfer bars so that the latter move in unison relative to the doffer frame.

As the drive car 203 approaches the end of its rearward (delivery) stroke, a cam 278 (FIGS. 20 and 2l) on the car moves under a follower roller 279 on one end of a bell crank on the pivot shaft 280 of an upwardly and forwardly inclined operating lever 281 pivoted at its upper end at 282 on the lower transfer bar 267. Raising of the follower roller from the broken line position in FIG. 2l to the full line position rocks the shaft 280 and the operating lever clockwise to raise the transfer bars in unison relative to their supporting pins 274. This, of course, tilts the carrier platforms upwandly to their dump positions to slide the bobbins 12 thereon endwise and forwardly off the carriers 53 and into the tray pockets 52 located just ahead of the outer edges of the platforms, as shown in FIG. 22. The grooves formed between the flanges of ladjacent dividers 161 on `the platform guide the bobbins off the platforms in centered positions.

It will be seen in FIGS. 15 and 22 that a coiled extension spring 283 is stretched between the operator plate 270 and the adjacent carrier post leg 165 to urge the platform clockwise about its hinge rod 158, and thus holds the platform yieldably in its normal horizontal position against the rear rod 159. The latter thus forms the abutments cooperating with the springs 172 and 283 to position both plates 160 and 170 of the carrier.

To insure that the drum 204 is returned to its normal axial position spaced from the bushing flange 264 and that the carriers are properly positioned for each dump operation, the bell crank carrying the follower roller 279 also extends ldownwardly from the pivot shaft 280 and is pivotally connected at 284 to a return pin 285 extending forwardly toward the end of the drum shaft 252 through a guide hole 287. Thus, the lifting of the follower roller279 to tilt the pl-atforms 160 also slides the return pin toward the drum shaft to the position shown in full lines in FIG. 2l, thereby pushing the drum back to the left. This return motion is transmitted to the carriers as a slight rearward motion during tilting of the platforms and before the bobbins are discharged.

At the end of each delivery stroke of the drive car 203, a flat 288 (FIG. 21) on the dump cam 278 is beneath the roller 279 and the transfer bars 267 are hel-d in the raised positions with the platforms 160 in their inclined positions. Then, as the car begins its return stroke, the roller rides back down the cam, permitting the transfer bars and the platforms to return t0 their normal positions.

When the drive car vagain reaches the coupling car 212, the latch pin 243 slides under the latchinginger 242 to recouple the cars, and an adjustable bumper pin 289 (FIG. beneath the drive car engages an opposed, yieldable bumper pin 290 on the coupling car to cushion their engagement. The yieldable pin is slidably guided in the lug 239 and urged to the right toward the fixed pin by a coiled spring 291 compressed between the lug and the he-ad of the pin. Thus, the drive car pushes the coupling car forwardly along the track to produce the next rearward stroke of the carriers to the transfer stations during the latter part of the return stroke of the drive car.

The opening of the pockets of the upper bobbin nest to release the first group of live bobbins to the lower nest is accomplished at the appropriate time by means of a cam 292 (FIGS. 5, 6, 8, 12 and 14) mounted on the drive car 203 and projecting rearwardly therefrom to engage the latch `arm 151 adjacent the rear end of the cars stroke and swing the arm rearwardly to the unlatched position (FIG. 14) as the car completes its stroke. At the same time, the downwardly and forwardly inclined end 293 of the cam pushes down on the follower and latching pin 150 on the front end of the lever 148 thereby shifting the link 140 upwardly to open the gate between the nests. This immediately releases the bobbins to gravitate into the lower nest. It will be seen that this openation takes place while the carriers S3 are dwelling in their discharge positions and shortly after the first five bobbins have been delivered to the upper nest. As the drive car 203 reverses its direction, the cam 292 moves to the left back through the position in FIG. l2 to release the lever 148 to the action of the return spring 145 while permitting the latch arm 151 to become reengaged with the pin 150, preparing the upper nest to receive and hold the second group of five bobbins discharged from the conveyor 15. An abutment 294 engages the underside of the lever 148 to hold the latter in position for engagement of the lever and the pin 150.

The earn 195 (FIG. 17) for operating the pushers 181 during removal of the bobbins 12 from the nests has a concavely curved surface 295 facing forwardly and offset to one side of the plane of the chain 205 (see FIG. 20) beside the rear sprocket 207 to be engaged by one or more rollers supported on the side of the chain in a preselected area along the path of the latter, these rollers forming the operators 197. As the rollers pass around the sprocket, they engage the arcuate surface 295 and rock the cam downwardly to rock the lever 193 counterclockwise and raise the operating link 191 and the rods 188 and 189. This rocks the pushers forward to push the bobbins through the gates and into the notches on the crosspiece 163 of the carrier. By proper placement of the rollers 197, the pushers are operated to tilt the upper end portions forwardly and seat them in the notches just prior to the beginning of the forward motion of the platform.

The drum 204 is indexed step by step in one direction by a ratchet mechanism 297 (FIGS. 23 and 24) operated at the end of each return stroke of the cars 203, 212 by a cam 298 on the coupling car 212 engageable with a follower roller 299 journaled on the free end of an L-shaped lever 300 pivoted at 301 on the base adjacent the front end of the drum to swing about an axis parallel to the drum axis. This lever is connected by a link 302 to a l-ug 303 projecting radially from one side of a sleeve 304 rotatably supported on the drum shaft 253. Projecting from the opposite side of the sleeve is an L-shaped arm 305 pivotally carrying an indexing pawl 307 projecting downwardly from the arm to engage the teeth of a ratchet wheel 308 fast on the front end of the drum. A spring 309 stretched between the down-turned end portion 310 of the arm 305 and a wing 311 projecting laterally from the pivoted end of the pawl urges the pawl clockwise about its pivot and towand the ratchet wheel. A detent 312 pivoted on a pin 313 above the ratchet wheel is urged toward the wheel by a spring 314 stretched between 16 a lug 315 on the base and the free end of a lug 3177 extending upwardly from the detent pivot.

Thus, as the indexing cam 298 raises the follower 299 and the lever 300 to the broken line positions in FIG. 24, against-the action of a 'spring 318,`thelink l302 rocks the arm 305 clockwise through'a preselected arcvso that the pawl 307 turns the ratchet wheel 308 andthe drum 204 through the same arc. Atthe same time, the detent 312 yields in a counterclockwisedirection about lits pivot, against the action of its spring 314, to passone tooth,`and then snaps into the notch behind the tooth. This occurs as the cars 203, 212 reach the end of their return stroke, toward the left end of the doffer as viewed in FIGS. l and 4-6. As their direction of vmotion is reversed and they begin the next delivery stroke, to the right in FIGS. 5 and 6, the roller rides back ydown the cam to the full-line position in FIG. 24, raising the pawl to the next notch in the ratchet wheel. The mechanism is held in this position by a stop 319 below the link 302. Thus, at the end of each return stroke of the cars, thecam k298 operates the ratchet mechanism to turn the drum one step andy bring another pin 250 into the path of the bumper 2.51, thereby shortening the next outward stroke ofthe carriers by the pitch of the rows of tray pockets. With adjacent pins on the drum spaced 18 degrees around the drum, the ratchet is constructed to step the drurn 18 degrees during each stroke.

It will be seen that the spring 261 coiled around the drum shaft 253 is wound up between the drum shaft and the bearing sleeve 259 as the drum turns clockwise (FIGS. 24 and 25) and thus urges the drum counterclockwise back toward its starting position. To permit quick and easy resetting of the drum to the start position, an operator 320 (FIGS. l and 3) is provided to uncouple the ratchet mechanism, and a locating pin 321 .(FIG. 25) is positioned to abut against a stop plate 322 on the base and prevent counterclockwise rotation of the stop past the angular position selected for the beginning of the operating cycle. Herein, the reset operator is a foot pedal at the rear of the doler pivoted at its front end on a transverse horizontal pin 323 and operable when depressed to rock an upright lever 324 clockwise (FIG. l) about its pivot and pull to the rear on a r-od 325 connected between the free end of the lever and the upright ann 327 of a bell crank pivoted on the base alongside the front end of the drum. The other arm 328 of the crank extends forwardly and downwardly beneath the free end of the wing 311 (see FIGS. 23 and 24) on the pawl 307 so that upward movement of this arm, in response to depression of the foot pedal, rocks the pawl counterclockwise away from the ratchet'wheel 308. An elongated link 329 pivoted on the lug 317 of the detent 312 has a longitudinal slot 330- through which a pin 331 on the pawl wing extends. The slot accommodates up vand down movement .of the pin during ratcheting of the drum but, when the pawl wing is raised above the fullline position in FIG.V 24, the pin 331 seats against the upper end of the slot 330 and shifts the link 329 endwise and upwardly, thereby rotating the detent 312 counterclockwise and completing the uncouplin'g of the ratchet mechanism. Thus, the spring 261 is permitted to spin the drum back toward the start position, counterclockwise in FIG. 25, until the locating pin 321 abuts against the stop plate 322.

If the doffer 10 is shut off as soon as it reachesthe end of a pass, it will begin its` next pass with the collecting conveyor 15 and related bobbin-carrying parts full of bobbins 12 and ready to begin normal operation as soon as the doffer begins its next pass along a spinning frame. Under Athese circumstances, the loca-ting pin 321 is positioned on the drum 204 to engage the stop 322 when the first pin 250 of the series is in the active position 250a in line with the bumper 251. Thus, during the first delivery stroke of the cars, the bumper engages the first pin and uncouples the cars 203 and 212 when the carriers are in their outermost discharge positions generally over the l? front row of pockets in the trays 14 as shown in FIG. 22. Then, successive indexing steps of the drum bring successive pins of the series into the active position to step the discharge positions toward the rear ends of the trays, each step, of course, being equal to the pitch of the rows of pockets.

If the doffer is allowed to run at the end of each pass until all of the bobbins in the handling mechanisms have been deposited in the trays, each successive pass of the doifer will begin with the handling mechanisms empty. Accordingly, the first portion of the pass will be devoted to the transferring of bobbins through the doffer to the bobbin nests. During this period of time, it will be seen that the carriers will make one or more outward strokes, depending upon the number of cycles required to transfer bobbins from the spinning frame through the dolfer. When this is expected to occur repeatedly, it is desirable to have means on the drum 204 for producing one or more idle strokes of the empty carriers 53 before activating the regular control arrangement using the pins 250.

For this purpose, several dummy pins 332 (FIGS. 4 and are provided on the drum to control the uncoupling of the cars 203 and 212 during the idle strokes. When the dummy pins are to be used, the locating pin 321 is angularly positioned to engage the stop 322 when one of the dummy pins is in the active position alined with the bumper 251, and the rst regular pin 250 is positioned to move into the active position after a preselected number of steps of the drum. Each dummy pin to be used is angularly spaced from the first dummy pin by the arc through which the drum is stepped, and the last dummy pin to be used is in advance of the rst regular pin by the amount of this arc.

From the foregoing, it will be evident that the loading apparatus constituting the present invention is operable at relatively high dofng speeds to load bobbins in a compact and orderly fashion into receptacles such as the trays 14 while the latter are stationarily supported on the doffer. The carriers 53 receive rows `of bobbins from the collecting conveyor 15 and the two bobbin nests, and transfer the rows to the trays, beginning at one end of the latter and progressing step by step toward the other end. By avoiding movement of the storage receptacles, this arrangement provides for optimum space utilization, particularly when two trays are loaded in vertically spaced relationship.

Moreover, the carriers and related mechanisms are operated smoothly and effectively in a relatively simple manner which correlates the timing of the various operations with the motion of the carriers. rl`he novel reciprocating drive and the control for uncoupling the carriers from the drive are effective to produce the progressively shortened delivery strokes of the carriers and to effect the discharge of the bobbins from the carriers while the latter dwell in each of the discharge positions. The result is a new and significantly improved apparatus for handling bobbins and similar articles.

I claim as my invention:

1. Apparatus for loading bobbins and the like into storage trays having a plurality of longitudinally spaced parallel rows of laterally spaced storage pockets, said apparatus having, in combination, a frame, means on said frame for supporting a pair of horizontal trays one above the other, a carrier supported on said frame for back and forth movement above each tray longitudinally of the latter between a transfer station adjacent the inner end of the tray and a first discharge position over the outer end, each of said carriers having a normally horizontal bobbin carrying platform and means for holding a preselected number of bobbins thereon in laterally spaced upright positions, said preselected number corresponding to the number of storage pockets in each row, means for delivering said preselected number of bobbins to each carrier in said transfer stations, a carrier operator having a drive car continuously reciprocating back and forth along said frame through delivery and return strokes of constant length, a coupling car supported for back and forth movement on said frame and drivingly connected to said carriers to reciprocate the latter during such movement, means operable during each delivery stroke of said drive car to couple the latter to said coupling car and thus to said carriers to shift the carriers outwardly in unison away from said transfer stations toward said first discharge positions, a device operable during vsuccessive delivery strokes to unlatch said ca-rs first when said carriers are in said tirst discharge position and then with the carriers progressively closer to said transfer stations by the pitch of said rows, means for tilting said platforms about transverse axes into inclined dump positions in each of said discharge positions thereby to discharge the bobbins into said trays, and means recoupling said drive car to said coupling car during each return stroke and thereby shifting said carriers back to said transfer stations.

2. Loading apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said delivery means include vertically alined upper and lower nests of bobbin-holding pockets at said transfer stations having open upper ends and open sides facing outwardly toward said carriers, means above said upper nest for releasing successive groups of said preselected number of bobbins into the upper nest, and mechanism opening and closing the lower end of said upper nest in time relation with the movements of said carriers to pass a first group of bobbins to said lower nest and then catch and hold a second group in the upper nest preparatory to transfer of the two groups to said carriers.

3. Loading apparatus as dened in claim 2 in which the lower end of each nest comprises a wall having an open-ended slot beneath each pocket opening outwardly toward the associated carrier, said carriers having fingers thereon alined with and movable upwardly through said slots beyond the lower ends of bobbins in the pockets 'when said carriers are in said transfer station thereby to pull the bobbins from the pockets as the carriers imove outwardly.

4. Loading apparatus as defined in claim 3 further including an upright pusher disposed along the inner side of each pocket and movable outwardly to push the upper end portion of the bobbin therein out of the pocket, and means on one of said cars for actuating said pushers as the carriers move into said transfer station.

5. Apparatus for loading bobbins and the like into storage receptacles having a plurality of spaced parallel rows of laterally spaced storage devices, said apparatus having, in combination, a frame, means on said frame for supporting a pair of storage receptacles in vertically spaced relation, a pair of carriers supported on said frame for back and forth movement across the respective receptacles on said supporting means between transfer stations adjacent corresponding ends of said receptacles and first discharge positions overlying the ends of the receptacles remote from said transfer stations, each of said carriers having holders for supporting-a preselected number of bobbins corresponding `to the number of storage devices in a row, means for driving said carriers back and forth across the respective receptacles rst inwardly to said transfer stations, then outwardly toward said first discharge positions, and then back to said transfer stations, mechanism for delivering said preselected number of bobbins to each carrier at said transfer stations at the end of each inward stroke, means progressively shortening successive outward strokes of said carriers by the pitch of said rows thereby positioning the carriers at the ends of said outward strokes in different discharge positions spaced progressively closer to said transfer station, and means operable to discharge bobbins from said carriers in each of said discharge positions.

6. Loading apparatus as defined in claim 5 in which said delivery mechanism includes a collecting conveyor having a run disposed above the upper station, means for releasing bobbins from said conveyor above said upper 

39. APPARATUS FOR LOADING BOBBINS AND THE LIKE INTO STORAGE RECEPTACLES HAVING STORAGE DEVICES SPACED ALONG THE RECEPTACLES, SAID APPARATUS HAVING, IN COMBINATION, A FRAME, MEANS FOR SUPPORTING A STORAGE RECEPTACLE IN A PREDETERMINED POSITION ON SAID FRAME, MECHANISM FOR DELIVERING BOBBINS TO A TRANSFER STATION ADJACENT ONE END OF SAID RECEPTACLE AND RELEASING THE BOBBINS FOR DELIVERY TO SAID RECEPTACLE, A CARRIER SUPPORTED ON SAID FRAME FOR BACK AND FORTH MOVEMENT ACROSS THE RECEPTACLE IN SAID PREDETERMINED POSITION BETWEEN SAID STATION AND THE END OF THE RECEPTACLE REMOTE FROM SAID STATION, MECHANISM FOR MOVING SAID CARRIER BACK AND FORTH IN TIMED RELATION WITH THE RELEASE OF BOBBINS AT SAID STATION FIRST INWARDLY TO SAID STATION TO BE LOADED, THEN OUTWARDLY ACROSS THE RECEPTACLE AWAY FROM SAID STATION TOWARD A FIRST DISCHARGE POSITION ADJACENT SAID REMOTE END, AND THEN BACK TO SAID STATION FOR RELOADING, MEANS PROGRESSIVELY SHORTENING SUCCESSIVE OUTWARD STROKES OF SAID CARRIER BY THE PITCH OF SAID STORAGE DEVICES THEREBY POSITIONING THE CARRIER IN SUCCESSIVE DISCHARGE POSITIONS SPACED PROGRESSIVELY CLOSER TO SAID ONE END, AND MEANS OPERABLE TO DISCHARGE BOBBINS FROM SAID CARRIER IN SAID DISCHARGE POSITIONS. 